Epic Games Vice President Shares His Wii U Experience, Believes in Success.

Mark Rein, vice president of major game developer Epic Games, said in an interview after trying out Nintendo Wii U game console that the device is destined to be successful. He indicated that Wii U is powerful and titles that use its innovative controller with touch-screen do impress. He also pointed out that Wii U is much more than Wii HD as it features certain additional capabilities.

"I like the Wii U. I think E3 will be a big eye-opener for people. I played Batman: Arkham City on the Wii U and they are doing some really cool stuff with the controller. [...] [Zelda demo Nintendo showcased at the last year's E3] was gorgeous and we can do even more than that with Unreal Engine 3. I think it will do great. [...] I think we've yet to really see what the Wii U can do and I think at E3 this year they're going to shock us," said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic, in an interview with Eurogamer web-site.

Although Mr. Rein did not reveal any solid plans for Epic to make a Wii U game (probably, some of the current titles will be ported to Nintendo's next-gen console), he did imply that some of the game developers who use Epic's Unreal Engine 3 would eventually come up with a title for the Nintendo system.

Given that Nintendo is tremendously interested in attracting core gamers to the Wii U game system, it is only a matter of time before Unreal Engine 3-based titles for the platform emerge. What remains to be seen is how impressive will those games be compared to the future Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 4, which are reportedly due in 2013.

In general, Mark Rein claims that the Wii U will be a success, thanks to the great brand recognition among casual gamers and the fact that Wii U is clearly not just Wii with high-definition graphics. The VP of Epic regrets that Nintendo did not launch the console last year.

"It is a great brand that a lot of parents really trust and they are probably ready to buy their kids an HD Wii that does that much more than just being an HD Wii. [...] I would love it if they would done it last year, but I'm excited for them to do it this year. I would be shocked if it doesn't do well," said Mr. Rein.

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It would be great if the wii tablet can be used as an Android tablet and load apps in there.

Another idea, the tablet can work independently: you play the main game on the console at home. The progress is saved on the tablet. When you are riding transit or away from home, you can continue the progress on the tablet (solving mini puzzles, researching, planning). So you can still play part of the game on the go.

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I doubt you'll be able to play games once you leave your house. I think you can continue playing games on the tablet in the house but that would only be possible through wireless transmission with the home console. Once you leave the house how is the tablet going to communicate with the console? They won't put CPU and GPU inside the tablet because that would be a Nintendo 3DS!

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I disagree. Wii sold because it excelled at casual games. People bought the Wii because of the allure of playing easy casual games like Wii Sports.

Also, the fact that it significantly underpriced its competitors was a huge factor. However, I think if the Wii was marketed as a hardcore console with mature adult games, it wouldn't have sold 96 million units.

So I still stand by my view that the Wii sold exactly because of its casual nature --> which meant casual, easy to pick up, easy to learn games.

Now, I think Wii U can't rely on the casual gaming market anymore. Casual gamers probably are happy with Wii and are playing on tablets and smartphones anyway. So I think Wii U has to go back to the roots of NES, SNES and even N64 had more hardcore games than Gamecube or Wii did.

Still, if Wii U has a lot of great games, it can overcome the hardware disadvantage that it will have against the next Xbox and PS4. That's what I meant when I said, bring interesting games and the gamers will come. People like us who care about hardware are using PC anyway. So if Wii U offers what we can't get on the PC in form of unique exclusives, it's a winner.

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I bought the Wii for it's games. I'd much rather play Zelda than Battlefield. From my point of view the PS3 and 360 just don't have many good games. I also do not like playing online, so that was just a bonus.